mindbomb
500+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Apr 3, 2012
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the k7xx and k712 are 3db more sensitive than the k702, k701, and q701.
Yo gents,
Man these K7XX are nice! I do love the extra bass and warmth, and they compliment the K701 and Q701 really nicely. They are also easier to drive? They get louder on my V200 much sooner than my K701, and that's direct swapping. So odd as the stats for these are the same. The bass control and extension else seem better. I also noticed my Auditor really drives them to the limits, unlike my K701....but that shouldn't be.. I am at a loss this shouldn't be.
Look forward to my three way shoot out between the K701, Q701, and K702. For now I'll return to listening to Army of The Pharaohs. Underrated rap band they are.
Perceived Loudness is more dependent on bass than treble, so I imagine the fuller low end on the 7XXs makes them sound louder sooner. Also, I think the specs claim they are slightly more sensitive.
You can see in Tyll's measurements at Innerfidelity of the K7XX in comparison to the Q701 and K701 that they are, indeed, a bit easier to drive such that it should be audibly noticeable:
Q701
Volts RMS required to reach 90dB SPL: 0.318 Vrms
Impedance @ 1kHz: 60 Ohms
Power Needed for 90d BSPL 1.68 mW
K701
Volts RMS required to reach 90dB SPL: 0.320 Vrms
Impedance @ 1kHz: 65 Ohms
Power Needed for 90d BSPL 1.57 mW
K7XX
Volts RMS required to reach 90dB SPL: 0.206 Vrms
Impedance @ 1kHz: 66 Ohms
Power Needed for 90d BSPL 0.64 mW
So can you use the k7xx with an iphone? An iphone is like 1 volt, so it could get decently loud, right?
With my 3rd Gen Ipod Touch about 50% with volume limit set to max is a good average listening volume. Past 70% it gets too loud for me. Well the volume is good enough, but you can tell that the amp is too weak to provide enough power for great bass.
I disagree. It is a drastic change and an iDevice headphone out is completely underwhelming.
Agreed. My experience is that portable devices like the current iPhone can definitely power the K7XX but the sound is usually a little thinner than you'll get with dedicated amplification. To me, the difference isn't drastic but it's noticeable.
The difference each person hears is dependent on what they start with (iphone, Galaxy S5, Fiio X3, etc) and what amp they go with, for me its a Lyr2 and Project Ember, the difference is quite noticeable vs my S5 but not quite as much from my X3 which has much more power and will even work with my HE-400i in a pinch.
+1
And also their listening volume, since a several db difference in normal listening volume could matter to whether or not a weaker amp drives the K7XX fairly well or not.